UB, FBI and ECC to Co-Host Cybersecurity Workshop

Western New York is becoming a leader in the field, organizers say

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo is fast becoming a center for research,
education and new practices in cybersecurity and computer
forensics, according to the hosts of a workshop on these topics to
be held March 31 in the Center for Tomorrow on the University at
Buffalo North (Amherst) Campus.

The invitation-only workshop, "Computer Forensics, Wireless
Security, e-commerce Security and Security Infrastructure
Development in the Academic and Business Environment" is being
co-hosted by UB, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Erie
Community College and the National Science Foundation.

It is designed to provide private companies and educational
institutions in Western New York with background in the growing
areas of computer security and forensics, with an eye toward
helping organizations capitalize on Western New York's emerging
expertise in these fields.

UB is home to a Center of Excellence in Information Systems
Assurance Research and Education (CEISARE), certified by the
National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security as
a national center of excellence. The workshop is being coordinated
by the UB center.

Later this spring, Buffalo will open the Western New
York-Regional Computer Forensic Lab, (RCFL) funded by the FBI and
one of only 13 in the U.S. The RCFL will be a full-service
forensics laboratory dedicated to the science of digital evidence
recovery.

Workshop speakers include academics as well as members of local
and federal law enforcement agencies. In particular, the workshop
will focus on emerging security issues for wireless devices, an
area of expertise for UB, which is conducting National Science
Foundation-funded research on wireless security and developing a
new teaching lab for related courses.

Other topics to be featured include an overview of the FBI's
Buffalo Cyber Task Force and InfraGard, an FBI-industry partnership
for computer security issues, as well as local law enforcement
perspectives on digital forensics and security for Web
services.

"It's beneficial from our perspective that the FBI can work with
the university to combine skill sets and resources to edify the
community," said Supervisory Special Agent Paul Mark Moskal, from
the Buffalo office of the FBI.

"There is still a growing need in companies and in government
agencies for people who specialize in computer security," added
Shambhu Upadhyaya, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science
and engineering at UB and a member of the workshop organizing
committee. "The idea here is to develop new initiatives and
curricula at local colleges and universities so students start
taking these courses and to inform local companies interested in
branching out into the computer security field."

Donna Kaputa, Ph.D., faculty member in ECC's Department of
Computer and Information Systems and an organizing committee member
added, "ECC's and other institutions' experiences in developing
information security curricula may prove valuable and informative
to other two- and four-year colleges seeking similar program
developments."

E-commerce and a new field called "m-commerce," performing
e-commerce transactions with mobile devices, also will be discussed
at the workshop.

"From government to manufacturing and medicine, knowledge of
e-commerce is becoming critical in every knowledge domain and
knowledge of e-commerce gives students a competitive edge in the
marketplace," said H. Raghav Rao, Ph.D., UB professor of management
science and systems in the School of Management and a member of the
organizing committee.

David Thomas, chief of the Computer Intrusion Section of the
Cyber Division of the U.S. FBI, will give the keynote speech from
8:45-9:30 a.m.

Tim Clancy, project director of the U.S. House Committee on
Science will give the keynote speech after lunch.